Angel on the beach.

Every day, after we have had breakfast in bed (around 8:30am) it is time to go to the beach and take Angel for her morning constitutional. She is such a different dog on the beach and now has no problem with going up to any dog and saying "Hey" (as they unceremoniously sniff each others butts). The walks we use to have in Engadine were very different and full of anxiety. It seems that all the fuss is about Angel going where she wants to go, and if she can't go there she whines and barks. It brings a tear to my eye to have anxiety free walks. She is reminisant of a toddler who just wants to go and explore, while the mother is worried about he/she is getting up to. When Rosy calls Angel to have a drink of water, she comes over bregrudgingly, just like a kid would say "Oh Mum..I've had a drink can I go now." After a week of this we just ignore what she does on the beach now, and she seems to be all the better for it.

Rosy and I started to notice that Angel was giving the ocean a wide berth so we have been getting her use to it, enticing her with food treats. Although it looked like Angel was just copying what Rosy did, with not getting her feet wet with her shoes on. Just today Angel was getting into the surf and running along. She even went over to the pond and ran into it. We saw her go in and suddenly she disappeared. She mustn't have noticed the sandy bottom dropping away from her. We were wondering if she knew how to swim and suddenly we see this little white head bop up and down (doing dog paddle) until she got to a place where she could stand up. It didn't bother Angel and she still ventured into the ocean after this event.

Just as a treat we have put a video on the blog of Angel on the beach. If you want to watch it and have speakers, be sure to turn the audio on. Just double click the thumbnail image on the right. The video will give you some idea of how Angel goes for a walk now. Let us know what you think of the video through the comments section.

Yesterday, Angel met up with a rather large Golden Retriever. This dog was so cute. It would run into the surf and then lie down in the water, waiting for Angel to make a move. Then this dog would run out and roll all over the sand. Then the whole process would begin again. We get to talking a bit with other dog owners and mostly they say what a well behaved dog Angel is. What the!!!!!

I feel so happy that Angel has found her Nervana. And the great news is that she spends the rest of the day outside the van, behaving herself.

Well, I must away now, even though I don't have anything to do. I think I will just BE, for a while.